Heartland Community College
Math / Science Division
Fall 2009 Student Course Syllabus
Course Title: Mathematics for Elementary Teachers I
Course Prefix and Number: MATH 135
Credit Hours: 3
Instructor’s Name: Cynthia Pulley
Office: ICB 2421
Phone: 268 – 8665 (office)
Email: cindy.pulley@heartland.edu
Webpage: http://employee.heartland.edu/cpulley/
Office Hours: MTWR (11:00 - 12:00 p.m.) and TW (2:00 – 2:30 p.m.) and by appt.
Student Communication
To access WebCT, IRIS, and your Heartland Student Email, you will need to log into
myHeartland, at https://my.heartland.edu
Important Dates:
Jan 11 .............
Jan 25 ............
Jan 18 .............
March 8 – 13 ..
April 8 ............
May 5 .............
May 7 - 13 ......
Classes Begin for 16-Week
Final Day to Drop with Refund for 16-Week Session
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (College Closed)
Spring Break (no classes)
Final Day to Withdraw for 16-Week Session
Classes End for 16-Week
Final Exams for 16-Week Session
Prerequisite: MATH 098 (or high school geometry), and either MATH 96 or MATH 99 (or
assessment) with a grade C or better, or equivalent. This course focuses on mathematical
reasoning and problem solving; and provides instruction in the teaching of mathematics at the
elementary grade level. Topics include properties of whole numbers and rational numbers, the
four basic arithmetic operations, and problem solving through various representations including
algebraic.
Textbooks:
Schifter, Bastable, and Russell (1999). Building a System of Tens: Casebook. Parsipanny, NJ:
Dale Seymour Publication.
Schifter, Bastable, and Russell (1999). Making Meaning for Operations: Casebook. Parsipanny,
NJ: Dale Seymour Publication.
Carpenter, Fennema, Franke, Levi and Empson (1999). Children’s Mathematics: Cognitively
Guided Instruction. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann & National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics.
Manipulatives:
Base 10 blocks
Fraction circle pieces
Pattern blocks
100 Unifix cubes
Colored pencils
Relationship to academic development programs and transferability:
As listed in the IAI, this is one of a two course sequence designed to meet the requirements of
the state certification of elementary teachers. The sequence fulfills the general education
requirement only for students with a declared major in elementary and/or special education.
Learning Outcomes
In this course you will have the opportunity to:
Learning Outcome:
GE
Code
PS3,
CT2
PS4,
CT3
engage in numerical reasoning about various
number domains
experience what it means to understand
mathematics and the algorithms used to perform
operations on whole numbers and other bases
experience doing mathematics by investigating, C3,
conjecturing, and justifying
PS4,
CT2
engage in studying and problem solving while PS5
working with others
gain insight into how mathematics has been used CT1
to describe the world around us and appreciate
the interdisciplinary role of mathematics
develop an awareness of mathematics so as to
be an educated citizen in your community with
respect to the nature of mathematics
learn to communicate mathematics through
C3,
written and oral presentations
PS4,
CT3
learn the connections of mathematics with D3
historical and cultural events
Method of Assessment
Exam, Paper, Class
Discussion
Exam, Paper, Class
Discussion
Assignments, Class
Discussion, Exam
In- Class Assignments,
Class Discussion
In-Class Assignments,
Class Discussion
Exam, Reflection Paper
In-Class Assignments,
Reflection Paper, Class
Discussion, Exam
Exam, Paper
Course Outline:
1.
Numeration systems
2.
Whole number system
3.
Decimals
4.
Rational numbers as fractions
5.
Applications, word problems, graphs, percents, ratio and proportions, etc.
Attendance Policy:
You are expected to attend class. Further, you are responsible for all material distributed in
class, announcements made in class, and content covered in class. Four days absence prior to
midterm (8 weeks) will result in being withdrawn from the course regardless of your current
grade for the semester; six days absence prior to the final withdraw date (12 weeks) will result in
being withdrawn from the course regardless of your current grade for the semester.
Method of Evaluation (Tests/Exams, Grading System):
Student grades are based on successful completion of homework, quizzes, tests and other
assignments as the instructor feels are necessary. Your grade is based upon cumulative total
points. There is no weighting of grades for quizzes or exams, but these will be worth more
points than your assignments. Exams may include comprehensive material and you will have a
comprehensive final. Typically, you will have 4 – 6 exams throughout the semester and quizzes.
Your final exam will be worth approximately 20% of your final grade in this course.
Grade Scale:
(100 - 90%) A
(89 – 80%) B
(79 – 70%) C
(69 – 60%) D
(59 – 0%) F
Tests are to be taken when scheduled and homework is due as indicated in class. All exceptions
must be arranged in advance with the instructor. Tests and other graded work comprise
approximately 75% of your grade. Tests will usually be given on a regular basis. The content of
the tests is based on class discussions. Other graded work may include graded homework,
quizzes, reports on readings, and other assignments. Further discussion of the content and
assessment of these assignments will be discussed in class. A comprehensive final exam
comprises approximately 25% of your grade. This exam will be given on the date indicated
above.
Late Assessments (Homework, Quizzes, Tests)
If you believe that you should be allowed to turn in a late assessment due to absence or
otherwise, you will be required to get the permission of all other students currently enrolled in
your section of this course. You must make your case to your peers who have turned in their
assessments on time as to why you should be allowed to turn in your assessments late.
Student Responsibilities
Before coming to class:
 Read assigned sections of the text.
 Attempt some of the assigned homework problems for the new section.
During class:
 Ask questions regarding problems that gave you difficulty in solving.
 Actively listen and participate in class discussions and presentations of solutions.
 Take notes, not just what is written on the board, but any verbal explanations or
clarifications given by the instructor or other students.
After class:
 Reread notes and highlight what does not make sense or what you still do not understand
so that you can ask clarifying questions during office hours or at the beginning of the next
class.
 Do all of the assigned homework problems for the section discussed in class.
 Seek tutoring or instructor help when needed.
 Redo any missed problems on the homework, quizzes or tests.
Absent:
 E-mail or call instructor prior to absence asking for assignments.
 Make arrangements to turn in assignments or make up assessments.
 Obtain class notes from someone in class.
This course is designed to develop your understanding of mathematics by providing
opportunities for you to experience what it means to problem solve and reason about
mathematics. Emphasis is on reasoning and on problem solving (investigating, conjecturing, and
justifying), on understanding of concepts, on connections among concepts, on written and verbal
communication of strategies and reasoning, and on computational fluency. This requires practice
and commitment to sense making on the part of the student.
It is important that you realize that you cannot problem solve with an understanding of
mathematics by observing and mimicking others doing mathematics. You must participate
mentally in the learning process. This participation includes studying the material; working with
others; struggling with non-routine problems; reasoning about, and solving problems;
symbolically representing mathematical thinking and reasoning; listening to others; reflecting
about what you are doing; as well as the more typical tasks of taking examinations and doing
homework. The emphasis in this course will be on problem solving and reasoning with
understanding rather than memorizing and using equations or algorithms. As a consequence you
will be expected to provide complete explanations of the reasoning you used to solve
problems.
Too often our previous experiences with mathematics have caused us to focus on memorization
and finding correct answers. Consequently our understanding of what mathematics is and what
it means to do mathematics is shaped by these experiences and is rather limited and narrow. And
yet, mathematical reasoning and problem solving consists of so much more. In this course we
will focus on problem situations as described in different guises: visual, quantitative, graphic,
abstract, and concrete. From these we will focus on the various dimensions of numerical
reasoning and mathematical problem solving: investigating and exploring, conjecturing,
justifying and verifying, connecting, and communicating.
In order to achieve the goals for this course, you as a student are expected to be responsible for
your own learning. You are expected to attend each and every class because the discussions and
ideas expressed in a class are not easily communicated by reading another student's notes. It is
expected that you will respect the ideas and thinking of the other students in the class by
listening to their explanations and appropriately questioning their problem solving and
reasoning if you do not understand. Further, you are expected to be cooperative in working
with others and fully contribute to the workload of each group in which you may be a member.
You are expected to participate in class and ask the necessary questions in order to develop your
own problem solving and reasoning skills.
It is important that you work on assignments prior to class time so as to make meaningful
contributions to class discussions. Listening to the ideas of other students without having
worked previously on the problems contributes little to developing your problem solving and
reasoning skills. You will need to spend the appropriate amount of time outside of class to attain
the expected level of problem solving and reasoning to understand mathematical ideas. This
time may vary each week from just a few hours to many hours. Practice on communicating your
thinking is important to develop your skills in problem solving and reasoning with
understanding, thus working with other class members outside of class time is strongly
encouraged.
Student Evaluations
In the last 3 – 4 weeks of class, all students are expected to complete a course evaluation form
online, at www.studentevals.com/heartland. More information about evaluations will be
provided in class.
Student Conduct, Academic Integrity, Plagiarism, Incompletes
Please refer to the Student Conduct Policy in the Heartland Community College CATALOG
for specific policies concerning discipline, academic integrity, plagiarism and incompletes.
http://www.heartland.edu/catalog/index.jsp
Heartland Library Information http://www.heartland.edu/library
The Library, located in the Students Commons Buildings at the Raab Road campus, provides
Heartland students with a full range of resources including books, online journal databases,
videos, newspapers, periodicals, reserves, and interlibrary loan. Librarians are available to assist
in locating information.
Tutoring Center:
http://www.heartland.edu/asc/tutor.html
(309) 268-8231
Testing Center:
http://www.heartland.edu/asc/testing.html
(309) 268-8231
Academic Disabilities
If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please
contact Anita Moore at 268-8249 or anita.moore@heartland.edu.
Notice of Cancelled Class Sessions
Cancelled class sessions, for all HCC classes, will be listed under Cancelled Class Meetings in
the A-Z Index and under Academic Information in the Current Students page on the HCC Web
site. Go to http://www.heartland.edu/classCancellations/ to learn what classes have been
cancelled for that day and the upcoming week. Be sure to check the last column, which might
contain a message from the instructor.
Week
1 Jan 11 – 15
Text
Topic
Intro
Assignment
Chapter 1
2 Jan 18 – 22
Chapter 1 – 2
3 Jan 25 - 29
Chapter 3 - 4
4 Feb 1 – 5
Chapter 4 - 5
Children’s Literature
Problem Set
Multiplication/Division
Problem Set
Case Studies
5 Feb 8 – 12
Base ten number system
Case Studies
7 Feb 22 – 26
Chapter 6
Case Studies
Unit 1
Case Studies
Unit 1
Addition/Subtraction Problem
Types
Children’s Solution Strategies
Mult/Division Problem Types
Multiplication/Division Solution
Strategies
Mulitidigit Numbers Concepts
What’s the base?
Problem Sets
8 Mar 1 – 5
Unit 1
Review
Problem Sets
9 Mar 15 – 19
What’s the unit?
Problems Sets
10 Mar 22 – 26
Unit 2
Case Studies
Unit 2
Part/Whole relationships
Problems Sets
11 Mar 29 – Apr 2
Unit 2
Algebraic connections; decimals
Problems Sets
12 Apr 5 – 9
Unit 2
Percents
Problems Sets
13 Apr 12 – 16
Unit 3
Case Studies
Unit 3
Addition/Subtraction of
Fractions
Addition/Subtraction of
Fractions
Multiplication of Fractions
Problems Sets
Division of Fractions
Problems Sets
6 Feb 15 – 19
14 Apr 19 – 23
15 Apr 26 – 30
16 May 3 – 7
Unit 3
Case Studies
Unit 3
Case Studies
Problems Sets
Problems Sets